Enhancing Sustainable Tourism: How Euro Cluster Rural Tourism Helped Us Improve GEA Services

by Andjela Djokic | Oct 21, 2024 | Sustainablity

At GEA Retreat, our commitment to sustainability and responsible tourism drives everything we do. If you’re reading us for the first time, check out our development goals here. Recently, our efforts were recognised by Euro Cluster Rural Tourism (ECRT) as part of the COSME project, which helped us introduce innovative enhancements to our services that benefit both our guests and the local environment.

Overview of Improvements

Thanks to ECRT’s support, we implemented several key initiatives:

Creation of the Barefoot Trail
Achievement of Bike-Friendly Standard
Development of a Recycling Yard and Community Education
Preservation of the Visit Dark Skies license for Stargazing

Let’s dive deeper into the details of each initiative and service that we improved or introduced.

Creation of the Barefoot Trail

Inspired by successful models in Germany and the Netherlands, our new Barefoot Trail deepens our guests’ connection with nature, seamlessly integrating with our holistic well-being programs.

If this concept is new to you and you think we’re crazy (again), here are some reasons why walking barefoot or practising grounding/earthing is beneficial:

🌿 Naturally improves eyesight (believe it or not)
🌿 Relieves stress
🌿 Keeps feet healthy
🌿 Promotes better sleep
🌿 Removes negativity
🌿 Builds mindfulness and enhances sensory experience.

You can also read the article that Andjela, our founder, wrote for Green Destinations here.

This amazing new service allowed us to clean up another part of our property that hadn’t been used before, enrich our offerings, improve the quality of our Mindfulness Classes with Kristina, and much more. We even installed a badminton court next to the trail and created a BBQ area, making it our favourite spot to spend a relaxed day in nature with a variety of activities.

barefoot walking at gea retreat montenegro

Bike-Friendly Standard

Considering our love for nature and environmental preservation, the bicycle is definitely one of the transport modes we value most. Additionally, being located along one of Montenegro’s top cycling trails gave us extra motivation to pursue the regional Bike-Friendly Standard, positioning FitCamp as a welcoming destination for cyclists.

Your bicycles will be safe with us in our equipped storage while you enjoy nature and rest in one of our apartments or our camping zone. We can also assist you with basic bike maintenance, providing spare parts, bike washes, or simple repairs.

This Bike-Friendly Standard is regionally recognised throughout the Balkans. If you’re cycling in this area, feel free to check out the list of places that can support your cycling holidays in Montenegro or the Balkans.



Benefits of Cycling Holidays

Promotes health and wellness
Reduces carbon footprint: Biking is a zero-emission mode of transport, helping to combat climate change
Minimises traffic congestion
Supports local economy and enhances community engagement: Cyclists are more likely to stop at local businesses, boosting the local economy and fostering community connections
Preserves natural surroundings
Encourages sustainable tourism
Improves mental well-being: Regular cycling reduces stress, anxiety, and depression, contributing to better mental health
Increases accessibility.

bike friendly fitcamp montenegro scaled 1

bike friendly space fitcamp montenegro scaled 1

bike friendly tools fitcamp montenegro scaled 1

Recycling Yard and Local Community Education

Facing numerous issues with waste disposal in our local community (and in the city and country in general), we’ve developed a small Recycling Yard to meet our operational needs and benefit the local community. Thanks to the support we received, we were able to take several actions to make this happen:

Educational workshop for the local municipality and community
Purchase of necessary waste separation bins
Formation of compost zones in various locations on our estate.

An educational workshop, led by eco-travel expert Kirsi Hyvaerinen, gathered villagers, local municipality representatives, and small travel businesses from the area. It was a great opportunity to brainstorm and emphasize the importance of waste disposal, recycling, and composting, fostering a culture of sustainability. A local portal, Omladina, supported our story; you can see it at this link.

Our Recycling Yard, located at the parking lot, is now available for us, our guests, and our nearby neighbours, who will separate waste with us and hopefully learn more about reuse and composting. Together, we aim to create a better future for our village and country by introducing the concept of a sustainable lifestyle.

Impact and Outcomes of Our Collaboration with Euro Cluster Rural Tourism

Empowered Local Community: Our workshop and recycling yard have educated the local community, creating environmentally conscious citizens who value sustainability.
Enhanced Waste Management: The recycling yard has improved waste management practices, reducing environmental hazards.
Promotion of Dark Skies: Our stargazing experiences highlight Montenegro’s pristine night skies, attracting nature enthusiasts and photographers.
Combating Climate Change: Our sustainability efforts contribute to climate change mitigation on a micro level.

Conclusion

The support from Euro Cluster Rural Tourism has been instrumental in improving GEA Retreat’s services during 2024 and beyond. We’re grateful for the opportunity to enhance our offerings and contribute to sustainable tourism in Montenegro. Above all, we are proud to be recognised by the European community that shares our vision for sustainable tourism development.

Visit us to experience these improvements firsthand and join us on our journey towards a greener, more sustainable future.

Why a One-Day Retreat?

Sometimes you feel that something inside you is asking for change. Not a dramatic life transformation, but a quiet inner shift, a moment to reconnect with yourself, to slow down, to understand what your body and mind truly need.

Many people believe that this kind of transformation requires a week-long retreat somewhere far away, stepping completely out of everyday life to find clarity, plus diving deep into so-called spiritualism, and going to the temple to atone for sins. It’s another fairytale of modern society. Unfortunately, many fall for this trick.

But meaningful change rarely happens all at once.

More often, it begins with small and conscious steps. They are deep inside you; tackle them, start working on them, and you will soon feel the necessary change.

This is exactly the idea behind the Soil & Soul One-day Retreat at GEA Retreat.

This day is intentionally designed to create space for reflection, learning and connection. In a calm and supportive environment, participants are invited to pause and explore simple practices that can gently influence their daily rhythm.

During the retreat, we focus on:

stepping away from everyday routines
discovering practical wellbeing tools that can be integrated into daily life
reconnecting with the senses and the body
creating meaningful conversations and connections
nurturing a deeper awareness of the self.

Everything we offer comes from lived experience. As a team, we are also on a continuous journey of mindful living and personal growth. Soil & Soul was created from that process, from our own search for balance, clarity and a more conscious way of living.

For this reason, the retreat is intentionally limited to small groups and teams. We believe in quality over quantity, personalisation over generalisation, and in creating enough space for each participant to feel seen, heard and supported.

What You Will Experience

Depending on the season, the Soil & Soul one-day retreat program slightly evolves, but its essence always remains the same: creating a space where you can reconnect with your body, senses, and the natural rhythms around you. Wellbeing Bazaar style. 🙂

Here is what the experience includes:

Naturopathy Assessment

Through a personalised wellbeing survey, our team gains insights into your daily habits, from how you sleep and eat to how you process stress, move your body, and maintain balance in everyday life.

Based on the results, we provide personalised guidance and practical suggestions that can help you improve your lifestyle and restore balance in simple, sustainable ways.

Each of us has a unique internal rhythm, a system that shapes how we respond to stress, nutrition, and daily routines. Through naturopathy, we aim to better understand that system and gently support it.

(prim.aut.): Naturopathy is the practice of supporting the body’s natural intelligence to restore balance through plants, nutrition, and conscious lifestyle choices.

Reiki – Energy Cleanse & Hygiene

Reiki is a gentle energy practice that supports deep relaxation and emotional balance.

During the session, participants are invited to slow down and experience a moment of stillness while our practitioner, Igor, works with subtle energy to support the body’s natural ability to restore harmony.

Many people describe the experience as deeply calming, a moment where the mind quiets and the body naturally releases tension. This session will give you a sense of how important it is to maintain energy hygiene.

Aromatherapy – The Language of Scents

Aromatherapy invites you to explore how natural plant essences influence the mind and body.

Through carefully selected essential oils, you will experience how scent can support emotional balance, deepen relaxation, and awaken sensory awareness.

In this workshop, aromas become more than pleasant fragrances; they become a pathway to presence, helping you reconnect with your senses and inner state. Some scents you’ll find more calming, others won’t be your ‘cup of tea’, which is valuable wisdom of your body told to you during this session.

In practise, if some energy centre is blocked, you will usually find the scent connected to that centre either too intense or unpleasant to your senses.

Mindful Eating - The Wisdom of Consuming

Food is not only nourishment for the body, but it is also an experience of awareness.

During this workshop, we explore nutrition from a holistic perspective, understanding how food, sunlight, air, environment, social energy, and even our thoughts influence how we feel and how we absorb, process and digest.

Participants are invited to slow down, observe their relationship with food, and discover how simple, mindful choices can bring more balance into everyday life.

Motivational Bio Gardening

Working with the soil has a unique grounding effect on the human mind and body.

Through simple bio gardening principles, participants learn how to plant, cultivate, and care for the earth in a way that supports natural cycles rather than forcing them.

This practice reconnects us with the rhythm of nature, reminding us that growth, both in the garden and within ourselves, requires patience, attention, and care.

And don’t worry, even if you live in an apartment, you can grow your own food. Just if you want to.

Add-on Experiences

Depending on the season and weather conditions, the day may also include additional practices that deepen the connection with nature:

gentle yoga and meditation
barefoot walking and grounding in nature
meditative cloudgazing session
stargazing under Montenegro’s dark skies.

These moments invite participants to slow down even further and experience the quiet intelligence of nature. Throughout the day, participants move through these experiences in small groups, creating a slow and personal rhythm that allows everyone to fully engage with each practice.

I created Soil & Soul because I believe wellbeing should not be complicated or exclusive. Sometimes it begins with a simple moment of awareness, the smell of herbs, a quiet conversation, a meal shared slowly, says Andjela

The Power of Small Groups

To make the experience both dynamic and personal, Soil & Soul is organised in a wellbeing bazaar format (our trademark thing, we are proud of).

Participants are divided into small groups that gently rotate through the different workshops during the day. This structure allows everyone to experience each activity while keeping the atmosphere intimate and interactive.

Instead of listening passively, you engage directly with the facilitators, ask questions, and explore each practice in a hands-on way. The small-group format ensures that every participant receives attention, guidance, and space for a truly personalised experience.

After the wellbeing bazaar rotation reaches its full circle, we gather again together to share a healthy, vegetarian meal, made with love by Biljana and Andjela.

Why It Works for Team Building?

We clearly explained, so far, what you can expect individually. But our team believes that this one-day retreat is such an amazing offer for team building (we tested it on our own skin), and we want to briefly explain why.

Most modern society corporate team buildings are designed around competition, adrenaline activities, and networking that often feels forced. While these formats can be entertaining, they rarely address the deeper reality many teams face today – stress, overload, and a growing sense of burnout.

Soil & Soul one-day retreat offers something very different for your team. Instead of pressure and performance, the environment invites calm. Instead of competition, there is space for authentic conversations and shared reflection. Through mindful practices, nature connection, and simple human presence, participants experience a slower rhythm that naturally reduces stress and allows people to reconnect, both with themselves and with each other.

We believe that companies do not need exhausted teams constantly pushed to perform. They need people who feel balanced, conscious, and supported, individuals who can contribute with clarity, creativity, and energy, and who choose to stay and grow within their organisations for the long term.

Companies benefit because:

employees reset mentally
communication becomes more natural
teams reconnect without pressure.

Book Now

For Whom is Soil & Soul Created?

individuals feeling overwhelmed with the everyday rhythm
people interested in natural wellbeing
professionals seeking balance
companies wanting meaningful team experiences and connections.

What Makes This April Edition Special

Early spring carries a certain unpredictability. One moment, the sun warms the air, and the next, a cool mountain breeze reminds us that winter has only just stepped aside. The same story happens inside of us. But, instead of resisting this rhythm, the April edition of Soil & Soul embraces it.

This gathering will unfold in a semi-indoor format, allowing us to move between cosy interior spaces and the surrounding nature whenever the weather allows. The atmosphere becomes more intimate, slower, and deeply focused, like an early spring conversation with nature itself.

Rather than a large outdoor event, this edition feels more like a warm seasonal gathering, where each workshop takes place in calm, sheltered spaces designed to encourage presence, reflection, and genuine connection.

It is, in essence, a cosy early-spring retreat dedicated to honouring the new season, gently awakening the body, the senses, and the mind after the long winter months.

soil & soul one-day retreat GEA retreat montenegro

Sometimes the most meaningful changes do not require leaving everything behind or travelling far away.

Sometimes they begin with a single day when you decide to pause, listen, and reconnect with yourself.

Soil & Soul is not about escaping life.

It is about remembering how to live it more consciously.

If this moment of pause feels like something you need, we would be happy to welcome you to GEA Retreat this spring.

Soil & Soul One-day Retreat

5 April at noon | GEA Retreat, Niksic

Limited to 15 participants

BOOK NOW